Tuesday, February 15, 2005 Vol II Issue 8 Publisher: Janet Bullard webmaster@magnoliawalker.com © 2005 All Rights Reserved ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is an opt-in newsletter only! THIS IS NOT SPAM! If you wish to know how you were subscribed, please email me at: mailto:webmaster@magnoliawalker.com?subject=How-was-I- subscribed we keep files for each subscriber and will be glad to send you the information. If you would like to be removed from this newsletter the instructions are at the end of this publication. My subscribers are very important to me and are not made available to other companies or individuals. Every subscriber's privacy is valued and respected. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hello Internet Marketer, I would like to welcome everyone, old and new subscribers alike, to this issue of MWCE. Wow! February has arrived and this is the time when we start longing for some warm weather. Around our home, we are pouring over the latest seed catalog and trying to decide if we really do need another variety of lettuce or carrots. And then of course, February is the start of the Dixie National Rodeo season here in Mississippi. The local riding clubs get together and ride the day before the "official" ride begins. Which starts this Sunday and is a week long ride to the Capital in Jackson. Complete with camping out, if you consider RV's really camping. We have so much fun. Sometimes the weather is nasty, but we all pull together and help each other out. I hope ya'll have something like we do to start the coming spring off with a bang or in some of the riders' case is a "buck." :-)) Don't forget my church, Greenland Baptist Church, has begun to publishing a monthly newsletter. If you are interested in learning about Christ and God's love you may sign up at the following address: http://greenland.magnoliawalker.com Include your Full Name and mailing address. I have some free downloads for you. They are listed below. Right click to download. When Menu Pops up Click "Save Target As". All are free to download, some do have upgrade areas. PDF's Audio 33 Days Guaranteed Success Thonkings Scam Spam Report Secret To Winning Every Time Use Surveys To Create Instant Best Sellers EXE's 101 Super Tips Web Pages How to Buy on Ebay If you have problems viewing this issue, you may go to http://www.magnoliawalker.com/currentissue.html or you may see the past issues of MWCE at: http://www.magnoliawalker.com/archives/index.html The purpose of this on-line publication has multiple objectives: To help you promote your on-line endeavors by providing you with pertinent information through articles, e-books, tech tips, web resources, business builders and freebies. To help you manage your home. Without an orderly home you literally have a mess. Through the MWCE, you will have access to all kinds of tips for your home. Beginning with the Parent's Corner, Kid's Corner, Home Tips, Gardening Tips, Health Tips and Herb Tips. Free Access to an on-line Bible. Our nation has become so "politically correct", the Bible has been pushed to the side. In doing this we have separated ourselves from God. We cause ourselves much strife in our daily lives by simply not taking a few moments to find peace. Sincerely, Janet Bullard Home School Mom & Internet Marketer Plus bottle washer, diaper changer, cook, errand runner, & The Great "Where is my ?" answerer! :)) THE POEM I knelt to pray but not for long, I had too much to do. I had to hurry and get to work For bills would soon be due. So I knelt and said a hurried prayer, And jumped up off my knees. My Christian duty was now done My soul could rest at ease..... All day long I had no time To spread a word of cheer No time to speak of Christ to friends, They'd laugh at me I'd fear. No time, no time, too much to do, That was my constant cry, No time to give to souls in need But at last the time, the time to die. I went before the Lord, I came, I stood with downcast eyes. For in his hands God held a book; It was the book of life. God looked into his book and said "Your name I cannot find. I once was going to write it down... But never found the time" Take a minute out of your day and pray. Eloquency impresses only Man. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% In Today's Issue: * Quote of the Day * Top Sponsor Ads * Business Opportunities * Article * Resources * Tech Tips * Helping Hand at Home * Guest Article * Gardening Tips * Suggestions and Comments * Contest * Ad Code * Kids Corner * Ezine Ads * Subscriber Ads * Viral Marketing * Recipes * Parents Corner * Pets Corner * Herb Tips * Health Tips * Legal Stuff The Step-by-Step Guide to Success You can become a successful ebook author and publisher - even if you've never written more than a shopping list! 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The targeted traffic it brings you is as good or better than anything you could pay for... except you don't have to pay for it! http://hop.clickbank.net/?themag/ezarticles A Beginner's Guide to Exchanging Links by Suzanne Morrison Reciprocal linking is an effective, free way to get more visitors to your website. Exchanging links with other webmasters can help you in two ways. Firstly, by getting your link displayed on other websites you are increasing the number of paths leading back to your your own site. This in turn will increase the number of visitors. Secondly, exchanging links will increase the chances of getting your web page ranked more highly in the results returned by search engines. The reason for this is that for most search engines, the number of links pointing to a site plays a huge part in determining where that site ranks. Why? Well, wouldn't you be more likely to visit a place that had been recommended to you by a friend? The same reasoning applies to search engine positioning. A link from site A to site B is like a vote for site B. The more votes that site B gets, the higher it is regarded by search engines. However, quantity is not everything! A link carries more weight if it is from a high quality site - in the same way that a recommendation from a trusted friend would be taken more seriously than a recommendation from a casual acquaintance. If you have been reading up on the subject of search engine positioning, you may be familiar with the term "PR", or "Page Rank". Page Rank is Google's way of measuring the "importance" of a web page. In simple terms PR is a number between 1 and 10 and can be viewed by downloading the Google toolbar. It is easy to become hung up on or obsessed by page rank, but my advice is to try to take your focus away from that PageRank icon on the Google toolbar and focus your efforts instead on building up a good set of reciprocal links. If you do this well, the PR and search engine rankings will come. So, how do you start reciprocal linking? The first step is to find other sites that you want to link to. Use search engines and links from other websites to find sites that complement your own and try to request links from sites that you think would interest your visitors. You can find some linking directory resources to help you with your searching on my Link Exchange Directories and Tools Page.Link-Exchange-Resources.html You may have been recommended to avoid linking with your direct competitors. Whether you do this or not is entirely up to you - the main disadvantage of doing this is the chance of losing business, whereas the advantage is the extra traffic that you will gain by doing so. Personally I feel that the additional traffic gained from linking to competitors outweighs the potential chance of losing business to them. Before you start your linking campaign here are a few tips to help you: Ensure that there is a visible link to the "Links" directory on the index page of the site you are requesting the link from and that the links directory is organized. It's unlikely that your link will be found by visitors if it is one of the 100 links on an unorganised links page. Follow the above rules for your own website - it's only fair. Once you have found a page it is good manners to add a link to your own site before requesting a link from another. This way the webmaster of that site will know that you are serious and will be more likely to link back to your site. Being highly organised whilst requesting links is also important. Using link management software to keep track of all your link requests and automatically add them to your web page literally halves the time taken to request and manage links. Keep track of all the links you have requested, either through link management software or in a spreadsheet. Add the URL, date requested and contact information for all the links you have requested and update this everytime a link is approved or declined. This will help you to keep track of your reciprocal linking campaign and prevent you from looking stupid by requesting a link from the same site multiple times. Use tools to help you decide which sites to link to and to help monitor your own progress. Tools that I use include - Alexa Toolbar - http://www.alexa.com/ - Google Toolbar - http://toolbar.google.com/ - Link Popularity tool - http://www.marketleap.com/publinkpop Finally, set yourself a goal to request a specific number of links per week or per month. Keep going until you meet this target. It may be boring, but once you get into the way of doing this, it will seem like second nature and you will start to reap the benefits in the form of increased traffic to your website! --------------------- Suzanne Morrison is the webmaster and owner of How to Start an Internet Business. Visit her site to find out more free ways to promote your website or sign up to her home business tips newsletter by sending a blank email to homebiz-direct@getresponse.com mailto:publisher@aboutaffiliates.com -------------------- Stop Your Email From Being Stolen! http://alicorna.com/cgi/obfuscator.cgi Find What You Need Here: ClickBank Marketplace Free Reports to Help You Make Money! http://all-in-one-business.com Do you need articles for your newsletter? http://www.ezinetrendz.com http://www.freesticky.com http://www.ideamarketers.com http://www.isyndicate.com http://www.marketing-seek.com http://www.findarticles.com All of these are fr--, if you are building your own page here is some help. 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Free Tutorials, Free eBooks, Free Courses, Free Guestbooks, Free Autoresponders, Free help and advice, Free Newsletter, Free Affiliate program and FREE MEMBERSHIP. Wow! Did I mention it was Free? Newbies and Oldbies alike are buzzing about the NEW Newbie Club. It's the most exciting Newbie Site ever to hit the Web. Join now - it's FREE! http://newbieclub.com/?magnolia!Feb05 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Save Money in Your Banking Services From Deborah Fowles,Your Guide to Financial Planning. How To Cut Banking Costs Computers are changing the way we do banking, but some things, like bank fees, continue to eat into our budgets. It pays to decide which services are important to you and then compare prices for those services between several banks before deciding where to park your money, whether that's in a brick-and-mortar bank in your neighborhood or an Internet bank in cyberspace. Saving Money: If you're using a bank account to save money, are you paying a monthly fee? If you have a no-fee account, it may still be costing you money if you're required to keep a minimum balance of any significance in order to avoid monthly fees. That balance, invested in a CD or interest- bearing account, could be making you money. If it isn't, you may want to consider your alternatives, or at least be aware of the costs so you can make intelligent trade-offs between costs and the services that are important to you. The best bet might be a bank that offers free checking if you have a savings account with a minimum balance. By keeping only as much money as you need to pay immediate bills in your checking account, more of your money is working for you by earning interest. Get information from several banks and choose the one that best fits your habits. If you always dip below the minimum balance, it does no good to have "free" checking, since you will incur a fee if your balance goes below the minimum. If you usually keep a significant balance in an interest bearing bank account, it's to your advantage to keep it in a bank that uses the average daily balance method for calculating your minimum balance and interest. You're much less likely to be charged a fee if you dip below the minimum balance during the month (as long as your average daily balance for the entire month is not below the minimum), and you earn interest on all your money. Some other methods of calculating interest can cost you hundreds of dollars a year in interest that would have been credited to your account under the average daily balance method. Borrowing Money: The differences in banking costs are fairly obvious when you're borrowing money. Obviously, a lower interest rate will save you money, right? Not necessarily. Fees, points, closing costs, and other factors can end up costing you more even if the rate is lower. See "Choosing the Best Mortgage For You" for an example of the types of issues to consider when borrowing (whether for a mortgage, car loan, or other type of loan). Check Printing: Why pay $25 or more for check printing when you can use a discounter like Current (1-800-533-3973) or Checks in the Mail (1-800-733-4443) for a fraction of the cost? Discounters charge around $5.00 for 200 checks, as opposed to the $25 your bank charges. ATM Fees: Use only Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) that don't charge a fee. If you withdraw $20 from an ATM and are charged $1.50 for the transaction, you have in effect paid a 7 1/2 % surcharge for the use of your own money. Overdraft Fees: Balance your checkbook every month and do not bounce checks. Typical fees for a check written against insufficient funds range from $20 to $25. If more checks clear before you are aware of the problem, you can easily bounce 2 or 3 additional checks for a total cost of up to $100. Online Banking: There are two ways to do online banking. With internet-based banking, you can dial in to the bank's computer using any computer with a modem, and use the bank's software. Client-based systems require you to download information from the bank into personal finance software that resides on your computer's hard drive. Internet banking is the way of the future, so if you're just getting into online banking, you might save yourself time and trouble by choosing a bank with internet-based banking. While some online banks don't charge fees, you can generally expect to pay $4.00 to $6.50 per month for basic electronic banking services, plus an additional $4.00 to $6.00 for online bill payment if you choose that option. Shopping around can pay off, though. Check out NetBank, whose rates and fees are hard to beat. Remember, it's easier to save money than it is to make it, and small amounts here and there can add up to big savings. Why pay more than you have to for banking services? 10 Questions to Ask About Online Banking ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Debby is author of "Everything Personal Finance in Your 20s and 30s," published by Adams Media, and is currently working on her second book. She has extensive business experience, including 14 years as Controller and ten years on the Board of Directors of a rapidly growing biomedical research company near Washington, DC. She's been listed in several Who's Who compilations, including "Who's Who of Notable American Women." Her articles have appeared in a number of magazines and on other Web sites. ===================================== "The Web's Best-Kept Traffic Secret" - by Jim Edwards (c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved http://www.thenetreporter.com ===================================== Did you realize that thousands of website operators use a simple technique to generate targeted visitors to their websites without paying a dime in advertising? It's true. In fact, the technique works so well that many of them don't want you to discover how they get those thousands of website visitors and make so many sales on virtual "auto- pilot." Their method? Creating tightly focused articles other people publish in their ezines (online magazines and email newsletters) and post on their websites. This method rates so powerful that some even call it "the web's best kept traffic secret." Now, you may ask, "Why would an ezine publisher or website owner publish my articles for their subscribers?" The answer: Content! Over a 100,000 ezines and newsletters operate on the web (along with millions of websites) covering everything from pets and cooking to investments and real estate. Many of them need tightly focused content and they simply can't produce all of it themselves. Look at it this way... it's the same reason newspapers use the Associated Press. Individual newspapers often can't afford staff writers to cover every story, so they accept articles from outside their organization. You can do the exact same thing for various ezines and websites catering to your niche audience! You can get valuable publicity -- exposure you often couldn't even pay for if you wanted to -- by providing valuable, content-rich articles in exchange for a byline and a link to your website (called a "resource box")! The following represent only a few of the enormous benefits of writing and distributing simple articles online: ** Attain "Expert" Status ** Let's face it! In the eyes of virtually everyone who reads your articles you rank as the "expert" on the subject. Just look at people who write newspaper columns. You may disagree with their viewpoints, but they still have an elevated status in your mind compared to the "average Joe" off the street. ** Pre-sell Website Visitors ** If your article appeals to a niche audience hungry for more information on a very focused subject, you actually pre- sell them better than any sales pitch. In their minds, you've already delivered content they really want so when they click over to your site you already have a "reputation" in their minds. ** Traffic Lasts Longer ** Even though the Internet changes very quickly, webmasters are usually very slow to remove content from their sites. Once you get an article posted on another person's website, you have an excellent chance of that article staying there for weeks, months, even years. ** Increase Links To Your Site ** In a recent search I found just a dozen of my articles posted on over 813 different websites! Not only do those postings bring me traffic, but they also help my search engine positioning because of my increased "Link Popularity." ** Builds Your Affiliate Base ** Fact: Affiliates always take the path of least resistance. If you provide excellent articles they can easily post on their sites or copy and paste into their ezines, your affiliates will promote you more often and more effectively compared to those who don't give them tools. Plus, as you make more sales and publish articles, other people will see you providing excellent tools and will want to sign up as your affiliate so they can use them too! ** Build a Huge "Opt-In" Email List ** You can use articles to build up a huge list of subscribers by simply compiling several articles into a series and delivering them at preset intervals. Often called a "mini-course," this technique allows you not only to prove to your subscribers that you deliver great information, but enables you to capture their name and email adress so you can send them articles and special offers in the future (with their permission). ** Requires No Special Skills ** People often think they need to be a "writer" in order to publish articles, but that's not true! FACT: If you have a passion for a subject and can talk and explain things like you would to a friend over a cup of coffee, you can write articles people will love to read. So if you operate a website selling virtually any type of product or service (whether your own or as an affiliate), publishing and promoting with articles should rank high on your list of traffic generation strategies. No other method of generating targeted traffic to your website provides the quality, quantity and steadiness of traffic in such a simple, straightforward, and cost- effective manner. ---- Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co- author of an amazing new ebook, "Turn Words Into Traffic," that will teach you how to use free articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate link! Click=> http://hop.clickbank.net/?themag/ezarticles Quick Quilts

Are You A Plant Killer? 6 easy steps to growing great plants. By Sherri Bailey Are you a plant killer? Do your friends refer to you as the plant executioner? Does your local greenhouse have a wanted poster of you out front? If so, this article is for you! Here are six easy tips to turn your thumb green: Plants need room to grow. A sure fire plant killer is allowing the roots to become crowded. Make sure the container you are using is big enough to allow for growth. Otherwise they get all claustrophobic and nobody wants that. If you're cold, your plant is cold, too. Maintaining a fairly steady temperature is best when growing plants. Avoid putting your green friends in drafty places. If you think it's chilly, so do they. Shed some light on the subject. Put your plants as near to sunny windows as possible for optimum growth. If you have an area that's sunny and warm in your house, this is the perfect place for some lovely plants. If you notice your plant becoming thin and reaching toward the light, PANIC! Ok, you don't have to panic, but do take notice. It's using plant sign language to tell you it needs to be closer to the sunshine. The drinks are on you. Watering can cause perfectly lovely people to become plant serial killers. They either water too little or too much. Here's how to tell when and how much to water. Stick your finger in the dirt about an inch or so. In most cases, water your plant when the soil is slightly dry and give it enough water so that it comes out the holes at the bottom of your containter somewhat. To fertilize or not to fertilize. That is the question. Most avid plant growers do use some sort of fertilizer, but that's a matter of preference. If you choose to use fertilizer, visit your local greenhouse and ask questions about what to use and how much. Chit chat. When I was a little girl, my green thumb Granny used to encourage me to talk to her plants. She swore it made them grow. She had the most beautiful plants of anyone in our town and I'm convinced to this day it's because I sang to them on a regular basis. So go ahead. Talk to your green friends. It's cheaper than a therapist! Happy green growing! E-mail: mailto:sher@momandhermoney.com Author's URL: http://www.momandhermoney.com For more free information on a variety of subjects from crafting to making money, visit http://www.MomAndHerMoney.com. To find out how you can grow money in artificial soil, visit http://www.GrowMoneyAtHome.com! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IdeaMarketers - www.ideamarketers.com

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Frugal Cooking with Herbs

Herbs are fun to grow and easy to use. Herbs can be a frugal cook's best friend because they can enhance even the simplest fare making it seem grand! Herbs are easy to grow--you can even grow them on your kitchen windowsill.

The addition of herbs can change completely the flavor of foods-from homemade breads to soups, stews and vegetables. And they can add variety and excitement to your diet.

A beginner should use herbs with care, adding a little at a time and adjusting to your own taste. Each herb has its own individual flavor and certain herbs also have well-known associations with particular foods. Basil is often paired with tomatoes, rosemary with lamb, chives with cream cheese and cottage cheese.

Fresh herbs are wonderful as garnishes. Herb vinegars can be used in salad dressings, soups and marinades. You can also add fresh herbs to mayonnaise or butter for a different flavor.

Fresh herbs will keep in the refrigerator for several days. A good way to freeze herbs such as basil, oregano, and dill is to chop, place in ice cube trays, cover with water and freeze. Then just add to stews and sauces when needed.

Some easy herbs to grow are lemon balm, rosemary, oregano, dill, basil, parsley, peppermint, lavendar, sage. Of course, you can buy herbs to cook with at the supermarket, also.

Here are some simple recipes to get you started using herbs in your cooking.

1. Lemon Chive Dressing
   


• 1 clove garlic
• dash of salt
• Rind of 1 lemon, finely grated and the juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives

Put the garlic and salt in a bowl and crush together. Add lemon rind, juice and mustard, stirring until smooth. Slowly whisk in the oil. Fold in chives and season with black pepper, if desired.
This is a good dressing to pour over warm, cooked new potatoes. Add finely chopped green onions.



2. Mint Iced Tea
   


• Wash 8 sprigs of fresh mint, 12 inches long (any mint, spearmint, peppermint, applemint will do).
• Place in blender with 4 cups water and liquefy.
• Let it set for about 1/2 hour and strain.
  
  


3. Herb Butter
   


• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 tablespoons fresh herbs or 2 teaspoons of dried herbs
• Soften the butter to room temperature. Finely chop the fresh herbs. Blend herbs and butter well. Store in fridge.
• Use to season vegetables, as a spread on bread, biscuits or baked potatoes. Anywhere you normally use butter.

Here's something different: not really cooking, but a recipe that you might find fun!


4. Basil-Lemon Facial Mask
   


• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 of an avocado, Peeled and mash
  

Pulverize a handful of fresh basil leaves.
Mash avocado and add avocado to basil in blender, along with lemon juice and honey. Mix until smooth.
Apply to clean face and leave as long as desired. Rinse off with lukewarm water.
In short, you don't have to be an herb specialist to learn to enjoy using herbs.

Cyndi Roberts' website, "1 Frugal Friend 2 Another" will show you ways to save moneyeveryday. Receive a free e-course on saving money at the supermarket! To learn more, visit http://www.cynroberts.com

Mistaking Hunger

You are not hungry most of the time. You are not always hungry when something smells good, looks good, or tastes good, whether or not you think you are. All food is prepared to tempt your taste buds, even though you're not hungry. You are also not hungry because there is stress, a deadline, pressure, a personal or business problem, anxiety, tension, it's morning afternoon evening when alone with friends weekdays weekends day time night time money problems it rained it didn't came with the dinner it was there . . . You are not hungry 24 hours a day, though you might think you are.

There are many daily food encounters: friends offering food, a maitre d' describing dessert, the smell of popcorn in a movie theater, to name but a few. Acknowledging the visual and emotional blitz helps interrupt the knee-jerk reaction that causes you to eat even though you're not hungry. Just knowing you are not hungry most of the time is a helpful piece of information.

You may even have pinpointed the reasons you're thinking of food, reasons that seem to justify your eating when you're not hungry. I've heard excuses as varied as "I got so angry because I couldn't get a cab" to "I got caught in a downpour without an umbrella." Many of these reasons might seem a valid enough reason to make you eat. They are not.

Certainly anger might tempt you to use food as a drug to keep the feelings down. If you eat when you're angry, does the anger go away? Or perhaps frustration weakens your resolve. At which point is your threshold for discomfort seriously challenged? Bored? At exactly which point does a yawn become a yen? Tired? When does food become a replacement for sleep?

Does the emotional pain diminish when you eat? Is the celebration any better because you come home stuffed, bloated, and full of gas, uncomfortable and with lowered self-esteem? Is it worth it?

Consider, if you will, that your past behavior has not worked. A clear vision of what you're trying to accomplish will. Most of all, you need a mind open to the possibility of change.

One man I almost taught was so afraid to change that he was locked into where he hung his coat, where I sat, and where he sat. He was terrified I was going to pull off his covers and yank away his security blanket of whatever food he was holding onto --- whichever food he thought made him comfortable. He was so uncomfortable with even the thought of change, he would not tell me how much he weighed, or what he wanted to weigh.

Of course it's possible that some discomfort might occur while you're changing. The very act of weighing less than you did before is a change. And there is no change without change. But there are ways to lessen the discomfort of the journey from where you are to where you want to be; to offer options, suggestions, tactics, tips, tried and true assignments that work more and more as they are practiced. After all, you learned to use food to calm yourself down. You can learn a new method, a new automatic response.

Do you eat out of habit, not hunger? Identifying habits requires guidance, introspection, and patience, but most of all honesty. Once you acknowledge, "Yes, I do that," you can decide you don't want to do that anymore and begin to do something else, instead.

It is unrealistic and self-defeating to expect to go from habitual, compulsive, or addictive eating behavior to a calm, rational, in-control eating person by reading an article, even this article. You can, however, alter automatic, learned responses by creating new and effective alternative behaviors that will result in permanent change. The new behavioral choices add up to a permanent weight loss, incrementally, not rattattattat. It's worth repeating: Your original patterns evolved over a lifetime. Now you can consciously plan the person you want to be.

Food does not contain a narcotic. Food only has the power you gave it by doing the same thing with it each time you encountered it. Food has the power you vested in it as part of a ritual distraction with your mind, many times since childhood, when you might have learned how to cope with stressful situations by using food inappropriately. It might have worked then, but it's not working now. Now you need to find a new way that will work now.

I'll show you what to do if you are not hungry but are tempted. There are many things you can do when food is offered, baked, cooked, prepared, and present just for you. Learn how to handle the compelling urges at the office, in a restaurant, or at home. Learn that an umbrella-topped pushcart, wafting a familiar aroma, doesn't always mean you have to eat a hot dog.

Hunger demands to be fed. An urge passes. Know the difference? The next time you're at home and thinking of food, and you just ate a little while before, set a kitchen timer for 20 minutes and distract yourself with some activity. Sometimes I set the timer, get busy with some other project